The Future's Not So Far Away
by 121charmed
Summary: The end of a dull day leads to Beckett and Castle deciding to turn in early, their talk turns from Alexis moving out to whether they want kids and Kate's still on the fence. "The thought of being a mother had always been one of the future and now that it was getting closer she was having to seriously think about what she really wanted."


Opening the front door, Beckett could make out the dim outline of the couch, rug and coffee table that covered it. She stepped inside to let Castle in behind her and reached for the light switch above the side table where she laid her keys down. Castle followed in behind her as she walked towards the couch and threw down her coat and bag. Castle put his jacket neatly on the back of the arm chair and smiled, looking at her as she fell with her eyes closed onto the couch. He quietly seated himself in the arm chair, admiring Beckett while she lay there. He knew she would just smile or laugh when she opened them to find him staring at her. She often found him already looking at her whenever she'd turn to say something, she liked that he only ever had eyes for her.

They'd spent the whole day in the office with no case to solve, left only with paper work from their last case. In the past Castle would have left that part to those 'officially' employed by the department but these days he hung around. He liked how it was a relaxed way to just _be_ with the team and have no pressure to make conversation. It was times like these that he really appreciated what an exceptional circumstance he and Beckett were in, being able and happy to work together. On days like these he's content to just sit and observe Beckett as she works, happy to just watch her and let his thoughts wander.

After a minute of silence Beckett opens her eyes and looks at Castle, she smiles as she meets his eyes. "So, what would you like to do for the rest of the evening?" She asks, running her hands through her hair, shaking it out. Castle glances around the loft, looking for inspiration. "Umm… we'll we've already eaten so that's out." He puts a finger to his chin, contemplating what to do. "We could…" Again he skates his eyes around the room but comes up empty. He looks back at Beckett and can tell she's ready for bed; she does that thing with her hair when she's burned out and it reminds him that he is too. "We could just go to bed." he says quietly, getting up and walking over to her. He reaches for her hands which she gives him with a smile. "It's been a long, boring day and I think we could both do with going to bed and relaxing for a while." He helps her up from the couch and pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning his forehead against hers. She smiles and whispers, "Sounds good" before leaning in to kiss him softly. They break and Castle takes her hand to leads her up the stairs to their room.

Once upstairs they both go to their drawers to get pyjamas. Beckett takes out a light pair of shorts and a loose blue t-shirt, laying them on the bed while she takes off her day's clothes and tosses them into the laundry basket. Castle had found his clothes too, a worn black t-shirt paired with his usual red pyjama pants which he also threw on the bed while he got undressed. As he unbuttoned his shirt he looked over at Beckett, glimpsing the curve of her back before her t-shirt slid down. Once both changed, she switched off the over-head light and they climbed into bed, just the low glow of the bed side lamps.

Beckett smiled to herself while reminiscing on her day and the conversation she and Castle had had. He had confessed that he wasn't ready for Alexis to move out, not ready to let go. He said the house would feel empty without her, no longer home. She'd tried to reassure him but nothing she said had made him feel any better so she's elected to let him lament over it for a few more hours.

After lying in silence for a few minutes Castle spoke softly, "Kate… do you even want kids?" He heard her inhale, deep and slow, holding it for a noticeable extra few beats. They'd never had a conversation on the subject before, either slightly afraid or reluctant to for different reasons. He hadn't wanted to push Kate too far too fast, knowing she wasn't decided or comfortable talking on the matter just yet, but under the current circumstances he felt he could ask without overstepping.

Castle hadn't met her eyes, figuring it'd give her the space she needed to formulate her answer without feeling pressured. After a few moments of silence Castle sensed that she was stalled, "I guess I'm just wondering if it's something you've decided you don't want, I wouldn't be annoyed if it wasn't. I just want to know where you're at with it." Kate wasn't sure how to answer, she'd thought about having kids but still felt uneasy talking about it. She knew that Castle probably wanted, or at least wouldn't object to having more but the thought of being a mother had always been one of the future and now that it was getting closer she was having to seriously think about what she really wanted.

"Having kids always seemed so far off to me that I didn't _seriously_ think about it for a long time."

"And now?"

Kate looked down at her hands, her voice turning quiet. "And now I've been thinking about it properly for a while and I'm always either completely clear about it or a total mess." Castle waited a moment before tentatively continuing, "Well, which you are now?" She turned to look at him with tired eyes and her voice just a whisper. "I've been tapering on the edge for a bit now; I was scared to actually make the decision because I knew once I made it I wouldn't go back and it's a big thing so I wanted to make sure I'd gotten it right."

"So, you've decided…?"

"Yeah, I have." She gave a small smile and scooted closer, Castle wrapping his arms around her. "Seeing how well Alexis turned out I think that together we could do an OK job." She smiled into his chest as he smiled into her hair. He was over the moon but not wanting to startle her by leaping out of bed to celebrate; he lied as still as he could and tried to stay composed. "Yeah, I think we could do an OK job of it." They both lay there is content silence for a while.

"But not for another while though. Let's have the wedding first and then we'll talk about all that stuff, ok?"

"Ok." Castle laughed into her hair, trying not to let his imagination run away with his just yet.

Again, he let a few moments pass before he couldn't contain it anymore and said, "So, we're gonna make a baby at some point after we get married." He smirked, "That'll be fun!"

Kate gave him a light smack and told him to go to stop making jokes. He settled down then and slipped his arm under Kate's neck and rested his hand on her shoulder, letting out a long sigh as he closed his eyes. Once his eyes were closed all he could think about was the future he and Kate were making plans for, he imagined holding a tiny baby that was part both of them and he could barely contain himself, those thoughts kept him from sleep most of that night.

Beside him Kate was trying to fall asleep, she was so tired but her mind was still whirling. She couldn't believe she and Castle had decided to have a baby, albeit not for a while but she'd been secretly daydreaming about the idea for weeks now and she felt a weight had just been lifted from her.

That night neither of them could think of anything but each other and the plans they'd just made, plans that would turn into much more than either of them ever dreamt of.

**Authors notes:**

**I feel so cliché writing an author's note but here it is.**

**I finally took the plunge and wrote down a snippet from one of the Castle stories/universes flouting around in my head. I've never taken the time before to write them down so I decided to take a few days to try this little scene and see how it goes. I hope it comes across as I intended. If you've enjoyed this let me know by writing a little review, it can be just one word if that's all you want to write, I **_**really **_**don't mind!**

**If there's interest in more of this story/universe then please do tell, I've the next few years for Caskett's 'adventures' unravelling inside my head and once I get more practised with writing these two I'm sure I can do them justice.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**India**


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